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Commuting tyre for GPZ500S 110 and 130/70/17

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B5234FT
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PostPosted: 12:34 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Commuting tyre for GPZ500S 110 and 130/70/17 Reply with quote

So I have a GPZ which gets used for commuting and it came with some continental supermoto tyre on the back which squared off in about 15 mins. I know this subject is covered a lot, but odd sizes make it a little challenging to go with the usual recommendations.

I have Pilot Road 4s on the Triumph and these seem to get a good rep for commuting too and their resistance to squaring off, however they arent made in the sizes I need:

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/kawasaki/kawasaki_gpz500s%2001.htm

https://moto.michelin.co.uk/GB/en/tyres/products/pilot-road-4.html#

Various sites suggest some ancient Bridgestone BT021s, but just no.

Michelin do a Pilot Street Radial in the correct sizes:
https://moto.michelin.co.uk/GB/en/tyres/products/pilot-street-radial.html

A look on ebay for the sizes throws up Pirelli angel City, but these seem to be for smaller lightweight bikes:
https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-sg/motorcycle/tyres/sheet/angel-city

Or Avon AM26, Bridgestone BT45, Continental Conti Go (which seem to be crossplies...)

https://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorcycle/roadrider

https://www.bridgestone.com/products/motorcycle_tires/products/detail/pr014/

https://www.continental-tires.com/motorcycle/tires/motorcycle-tires/allround/contigo---allround

What would you recommend, based on the sizes required?

Thanks
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stinkwheel
Bovine Proctologist



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PostPosted: 12:40 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

BT45 all day long.

It's bias belted.

Handling gets screwey with anything else I ever tried on them. The BT45 is enough tyre for the bike, you'll be dragging the belly pan before you run out of grip.

The front will get a tad vague feeling after about 50 miles then settle down after another 50. If it starts tracking along linear road defects, it's time to replace the front, even if it's still a bit off the wear bars.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 12:44 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Re: Commuting tyre for GPZ500S 110 and 130/70/17 Reply with quote

B5234FT wrote:
So I have a GPZ which gets used for commuting and it came with some continental supermoto tyre on the back which squared off in about 15 mins.

Yeah, soz, m​8, it was past wine o'clock when I ordered that. I was like "No, don't order the SM, don't order the... something." then I had to just make the best of it.

[Checks map]

Wait a... are you riding my ex-bike? Continental ContiTwist Sport SM 130/70-17? 2002 model, twin discs, fairing infill panels?
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Last edited by Rogerborg on 12:45 - 18 Apr 2017; edited 1 time in total
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B5234FT
Brolly Dolly



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PostPosted: 12:45 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

KN52....
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 12:50 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

B5234FT wrote:
KN52....

Huh, no, mine was BU02. Same year, same tyre, same vicinity. I guess some other penny chiselling bugger also picked the cheapest rubber on Oponeo just in order to punt the bike on with a fresh tyre. The thing was profiled like a chisel, I kept feeling it was going to tip over when I was riding it to its new owner. Wink
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B5234FT
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PostPosted: 13:45 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did wonder if it was just a shit size with limited range. If the conti SM was cheap too then it's likely a few folk fitted them. Not the tyre for the bike though!

stinkwheel wrote:

Handling gets screwey with anything else I ever tried on them.


Stinkwheel, have you had a few then?

I'm not too fussed about outright grip as long as its predictable and they last!
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B5234FT
Brolly Dolly



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PostPosted: 14:13 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=235170

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=224566

Cheapest I can find them:

https://www.thevisorshop.com/en/gb/Bridgestone-BT45-Motorcycle-Tyres/m-14151.aspx

Happy enough with the advice, I just struggle to believe a 15 year old tyre design is still the answer, but then perhaps modern equivalents use larger sizes and modern bikes using these sizes are of a different genre, leaving these tyres as the latest point in the crossover of faired middleweight commuters on skinny tyres.....
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mkjackary
Nitrous Nuisance



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PostPosted: 14:38 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I currently have bt45s and they are flintstones levels of squared off. I guess that is what happens when you have multiple first time riders on a bike. I am now running with a chicken strips of a cm and a bit, although 10 months ago it was probably close to only the central inch i was using.

I have a micheline pilot street which was 60 quid including next day delivery, just got to find a time to take it off and get the wheel down to the mechanics to change it.

I'm sure the bt45 and pilot street are similar in terms of grip levels, so i thought i would try the pilot street to see if it rounds off a bit less.

On openeo it is still 61 posted for rear,


Last edited by mkjackary on 14:46 - 18 Apr 2017; edited 1 time in total
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B5234FT
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PostPosted: 14:46 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Silett's in Aberdeen will do a pair of BT45s for £182 fitted.

The michelins look a little cheaper but are an unknown quantity.

Concerned if the BT45s are squaring off though!
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mkjackary
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PostPosted: 14:49 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

B5234FT wrote:
Silett's in Aberdeen will do a pair of BT45s for £182 fitted.

The michelins look a little cheaper but are an unknown quantity.

Concerned if the BT45s are squaring off though!
it is an er5, had a learner on it before, and i have come onto it from das, so now it has has 2-3 years of learners, so i wouldn't be surprised if that is a contributing factor.

But they now have 1.5-0mm tread in the middle, and nearly all their tread left at the edges
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B5234FT
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PostPosted: 14:53 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Times like this I love and hate the internet, for as many threads as I can find going on about BT45s being amazing I can find as many about odd wear patterns and squaring off prematurely.
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 15:31 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't imagine stinkwheel does much straight-line commuting on his GPZs. He probably sharpens the tyres rather than squaring them. Wink
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike
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stinkwheel
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PostPosted: 15:42 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

The BT45 is a dual compound, bias belted tyre. It should be as immune to squaring as anything else.

They square off because it's a commuter bike being used for commuting.

I rode GPZ500s for many years. Both 16 and 17" wheel models. I tried pirelli MT75s on (which were a firm favourite of nearly everyone at the time for medium sized bikes) and contis. Both made the handling pretty shonky.

The consensus in the GPZ owners club at the time was to just fit BT45s and have done with it.
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.
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B5234FT
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PostPosted: 16:09 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
I don't imagine stinkwheel does much straight-line commuting on his GPZs. He probably sharpens the tyres rather than squaring them. Wink


Bike share? Laughing
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B5234FT
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PostPosted: 16:27 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

stinkwheel wrote:
The BT45 is a dual compound, bias belted tyre. It should be as immune to squaring as anything else.

They square off because it's a commuter bike being used for commuting.

I rode GPZ500s for many years. Both 16 and 17" wheel models. I tried pirelli MT75s on (which were a firm favourite of nearly everyone at the time for medium sized bikes) and contis. Both made the handling pretty shonky.

The consensus in the GPZ owners club at the time was to just fit BT45s and have done with it.


I'm so torn between knowing the BT45s 'work' and being pained at the idea of using a 15 year old tyre design. Having come from cars (which are very different) the idea of using anything more than two generations old, or not a radial seems crazy.

I'm going to have a think and then make the decision.
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331X2
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PostPosted: 18:41 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

The one I just sold had BT45's on when I bought it which were squared quite badly although the bike had been a commuter/2 up bike for a long time. Rode it to the edge of the tyres/hero blobs on the pegs and never felt like it was going to wash out, just felt a bit strange when transitioning from the flat part in the middle Laughing

Eta: They are as much tyre as the bike needs and have the added benefit of lasting for stupid amounts of miles, you can't really go wrong.
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rhys99
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PostPosted: 23:07 - 18 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got a pilot street on the rear of my bike and i think they're great, i got around 7-8k out of my first rear and 12k out of the front. I don't have much experience with other tires apart from a Bridgestone S20 evo which lasted almost half the time but was better grip wise. Currently just got a Pirelli Rosso 2 on the front and will be having a rosso on the rear come summer.
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B5234FT
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PostPosted: 16:30 - 19 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, so today I become 'that guy' - the guy who comes on a forum, asks for advice and then completely ignores it.

I've just ordered a pair or Michelin Pilot Street tyres to be fitted tomorrow morning for £161 fitted.

https://www.cbr300forum.com/forum/wheels-tires-suspension/761-michelin-pilot-street-radial-tires.html

I just couldnt bring myself to spend £20 more on some tyres designed 15 years ago, even knowing they would have been 'fine'

It'll be interesting to see what they're like!

Thanks for the advice and I hope this thread proves useful to someone.

Cheers
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ThatDippyTwat
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PostPosted: 18:46 - 19 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

B5234FT wrote:
I've just ordered a pair or Michelin Pilot Street tyres to be fitted tomorrow morning for £161 fitted.


Pilot streets are pretty good. I've got them on a smaller bike (130-70-17, 110-90-18) and I'd rate them on par with Avon Streetrunners. Grippy enough for commuter bikes if you're not absolutely pinning it everywhere.
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redeem ouzzer
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PostPosted: 07:13 - 21 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Your bike has a steel frame, narrow tires and horrible damper rod forks. Even if the rims were wide enough it simply can't generate enough cornering force to justify radial tyres. I use BT45's on track and managed to grind chunks out of the pipes and side stand so I don't think pottering to work will challenge them too much.
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pompousporcup...
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PostPosted: 11:42 - 21 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

your alternative would have been Pirelli sport demons, if you can find them in the right size.

easily on par with the b45s (i have had both back to back twice). unfortunately the mileage from the sport demons was pretty low due to the softer compound.

still, as others have said, you'l run out of the bikes ability before you run out of tyre.. theortically Laughing
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tsmith
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PostPosted: 00:56 - 22 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've also got the Michelin pilot street radials on my EX500E10. I went with a 110/70-17 front and a 140/70-17 rear. I also upgraded to a Hagon rear shock and Hagon progressive fork springs to really take advantage of them.

The limiting factor then becomes the frame, but that can be fixed with gussetting and solid motor mounts.

https://brg-racing.myshopify.com/collections/motorcycles/products/ex500motormounts

Amazing how quickly the old GPZ500s can corner with these mods fitted
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Rogerborg
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PostPosted: 07:51 - 22 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

OP asks about tyres for commuting, is recommended new engine mounts to decrease lap times.

Never stop being BCF.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike
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rgx107
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PostPosted: 06:57 - 23 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think you will like the Michelins. I recently replaced the rear after 32000 km, the front is still good. Grip is good in wet and cold too, good for commuting.

And they are made in two variants, bias-ply and radial - I went for radials.
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stevo as b4
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PostPosted: 10:35 - 23 Apr 2017    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not quite a true BCF thread yet though, as commuting has been mentioned and yet no one has suggested a legendary commuter bike that sounds like a very hot sword? Wink
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Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 6 years, 341 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
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